The Oregon Trail March 26, 1845 My Dear friend, I have crossed the 2,000-mile long Oregon Trail. It took five months traveling by wagon train. It was hard and long, but Soda Springs, California was so worth it. Did you know Pappa found a small bit of gold on our first day? It was so exciting and it turned out to give us a lot of money. You really should come, My dear friend, we are having so much fun and our new shop is doing so well. I haven't had any free time, I've been so busy. When you come, be sure the men on watch are capable- their job is to make sure nothing harms you. In case you were wondering, they switch off and on every so often. The person on the first shift, on the third day wasn’t the kind of person you would trust your life to. In my opinion, he wasn’t very trust worthy. There were all sorts of wild creatures to be aware of. Thank God the men paid at least some attention or else I wouldn’t be writing this letter! Sadly, the wild creatures were not the only dangers. Some of the other dangers were flash floods and tornadoes. Good thing we didn’t have many! Alas, no matter where they go, adults will always have chores for children. Okay, the adults did do work too, but it seemed like we had a lot of it do if you asked me. Mother and the other women were probably thinking they also had a lot to do. They had to cook meals of bread, beans and bacon and mend and wash clothes. The only help they got was from the older girls. Luckily, I was one of the children who wasn’t old enough to help the women. I was also not young enough to gather buffalo chips to be used as fuel for fires. This meant I had to milk the cows with the other children my age. This was the easiest task that hardly anyone could fail. The men had to do two jobs; like I said, they had to be on watch, and they had to tend to the livestock and hunt for food. Hard, tiresome work. These are just things you might want to think about when you’re on the trip to the Oregon Trial. Also, might I advise you to bring lots of water, you never know when you’ll run out. As for sickness, everyone gets sick sometimes. Although, normally they don’t die from it. It was horrible, but in all, the trip was TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! So start packing now, you might want to prepare. Sincerely, Angelique Hanna P.S. Did you know, a woman advertised for a husband? I wonder if anyone answered her. She seemed a little fiery and outspoken. Possibly a little over-confident.